First Steps After
by PastelWinter
Summary: The Avengers truly don't understand why Thor still loves Loki after everything he's done. Takes place in the shawarma scene after the end credits. No slash.


_Author's Note: To state the obvious, I don't own The Avengers, or anything of the sort. A huge amount of the credit for this goes to YouThereintheTrunks. The story idea belongs to her; and a bunch of the detail and dialogue and other things came from her as well. _

_This takes place in the scene after the credits, where the Avengers are eating shawarma. If you want to get a clear picture of what shawarma is exactly I advise you look on Wikipedia, but I think all you need to know to understand what they're eating is that basically it's pita wraps filled with a mixture of meat and vegetables. Hope you enjoy!_

Yet another round of laughter could be heard, as well as several indistinguishable voices belonging to strangers seated at tables throughout the restaurant. At the closed end, alone and feeling out of place, sat the God of Mischief, waiting. There were tables here as well, but thankfully this section of the restaurant was empty, except for the waiters and waitresses going in and out of the kitchen. Loki eyed the massive amounts of food they carried, breathing in the aroma. Aside from the occasional curious or scornful glances, the waiters mainly ignored him. They were too busy serving his brother and the other hero-Avengers, Loki thought with distaste. Though actually he was glad to be ignored, for he could imagine the kind of picture he made.

He surreptiously tugged on his chains, more out of instinct than a hope to get free, for he knew- as much as he hated to admit it- that escape was impossible. His hands, loosly chained together, rested on a small table in front of him. Thor had placed Mjolnir on the table, over the middle of the chains connecting his handshackles, making it impossible for Loki to leave the table. He shifted in his seat. As if things weren't already bad enough, he was now forced to wait, chained and muzzled, while his brother and his friends ate. He breathed a sigh through the muzzle.

At the other end of the restaurant, away from Loki, the Avengers sat together at one of the many tables, talking and laughing. Everyone was congratulating Tony Stark on his excellent restaurant suggestion and commenting on how delicious everything tasted.

Though Thor joined in the conversation his new comrades were having, his thoughts were elsewhere. Everyone was acting like this was a victory. And it was- to them. But Thor wasn't at all in the mood for celebrating. A heavy feeling was weighing in his heart. He couldn't stop reviewing everything that had just gone on, everything his brother had done, and asking himself how it had happened. They used to be so close, but now...Thor helplessly let that thought trail off, wondering if there was any hope for mending his relationship with Loki after all that had happened.

Everyone continued to eat. After a time, Tony noticed that Thor was doing something strange with his food. He took two half pitas and emptied both their contents on his plate, carefully, so as to not tear the bread. He then methodically began to separate the vegetables from the meat. When he had two separate piles, he put the vegetables back into one of the half pitas and ate some of it, leaving the meat on his plate.

Tony found that very strange, knowing Thor's reputation as a hearty eater. Did he find something wrong with the meat? Tony wondered. It tasted fine to him.

After a few minutes, Thor began to put as much meat as the remaining pita could hold back into it, as neatly as possible. Tony continued to watch in bemused silence, and by now some of the others were looking confused as well. Thor didn't seem to notice their questioning glances, or if he did, he ignored them. He took the fat, meat-filled pita in one hand and a cool glass of water in the other. Then, without uttering a word to anyone, he pushed back his chair and left the table.

The others were all wondering what Thor was doing, but their mouths were too full of food to question him. Tony, however, realized a moment after Thor sprang up where he was going.

He immediately went after Thor. "Oh, no, no, _NO_, you are _not_ giving that food away to Loki. No! Thor, come back!"

Thor ignored Tony's protests, walking determinedly to the back of the restaurant. Loki looked up when they approached. At first his eyes showed confusion, which turned to incredulity when he saw the pita his brother was holding.

"No!" Tony continued to rant, though Thor wasn't listening. "Thor, stop this!"

Thor sat down in the chair next to Loki, who quickly turned away. Hunger gnawed at him, but he didn't want to reveal that to Thor- and especially not to Tony, who still stood next to them, protesting loudly. He knew that his eyes would betray his hunger.

"It's okay, brother," Thor whispered.

Loki met his gaze. _I'm not your brother_, he told him with his eyes, but it was only halfheartedly.

Thor set the glass of water on the table beside them, next to Mjolnir and the chains, and then gently removed Loki's muzzle. He brought the pita to Loki's mouth.

Loki hesitated, eyeing the meat. His pride protested, but his hunger won out, and after a few minutes he brought his head forward to take his first bite.

Upon witnessing that first bite, for the first time ever, Tony Stark was speechless with fury. He muttered a few indistinguishable words, and then turned and left the room in a huff. Gong back to the others, he plopped back into his chair and began shoving more food into his mouth without a word to anyone.

Though Tony did nothing to explain, the rest of the Avengers had by now realized what was going on. With Thor leaving so abruptly with the pita and water, and then Tony coming back so furious, it was obvious to them that Thor was feeding Loki. None of them said anything.

Back at the closed end of the restaurant, Loki continued eating. He didn't question Thor, and Thor didn't say anything to him. But inside he was burning with confusion. Thor was actually feeding him. Taking the time to keep him from going hungry. _Why?_ Surely he couldn't have forgotten everything he had done. After all that had happened, it didn't make any sense at all. He came close to asking Thor about it, but in the end he just continued eating, silent and confused.

When Loki had finished, and Thor was certain he had drank enough water that he wouldn't be thirsty, he carefully put the muzzle back on. Loki didn't look at him.

Thor went back to the table his friends were at and sat again in silence. He picked up his pita with vegetables and continued to eat it. Everyone else continued to eat as well. No one mentioned it, but the air between them all felt awkward.

For many minutes, no words were spoken.

Finally Steve Rogers could not contain his curiosity. He asked Thor simply, "Why do you still love Loki after all he's done?" It was the question that was on everyone's mind.

Thor looked at Steve as if that was the most absurd question he had ever received. "He's my brother," he said automatically.

"But he's done such horrible things," Natasha spoke up. Some of the others voiced their agreement.

"You'd think you would just give up on him by now," Clint Barton added.

Thor felt anger boiling inside him. His new comrades had truly thought that not only would he let his brother go hungry, but he was expected to do so. They thought he should give up on his brother. They even thought he shouldn't love Loki, after the crimes his brother had commited.

At first he said nothing, calming himself. His friends really didn't get _why_ he hadn't given up on Loki. He tried to formulate an answer in his head. He wanted to be as articulate as possible, so that they could finally understand- completely and fully. Then he remembered that Steve had lost his best friend in a war on Earth long ago.

He began, addressing Steve: "Captain America, I know you lost your best friend many years ago. I am sorry for your loss, but, please, do me the favor of remembering the love you had for your best friend – wholly and surely. Imagine that you experienced that love for him from the beginning of his life to just one year ago. Imagine that you loved him and you had his love every day of your life for a _millennium_, for _one thousand years_. Now imagine that he is not only your best friend – but he is also your brother."

He had their attention now. Everyone at the table abandoned eating to listen.

Still looking at Steve, Thor continued, "Now, remember the pain you felt when you lost your best friend. If there was a way to bring your friend back, Captain, would you not do everything in your power to do so? And if by some miracle he was not dead or lost to you, and you did find him but he wasn't acting all-there and he forgot the love you had for each other, would you not do everything you could to help him remember? Would you not forgive him anything? Would you not want the love of your best friend back?"

Steve stared at Thor, nodding in agreement and understanding. His eyes filled with tears as he remembered the incredible pain he had felt when his friend Bucky had died. He wished more than anything that there was a way to bring him back.

None of the Avengers said anything, not even Tony. Thor felt sure he had gotten his point across, but still he added, "All throughout our lives, Loki and I have been not only brothers but the best of friends. We have had our issues, of course- mainly this past year. I don't know how much any of you know of this, but in recent months I had believed my brother to be dead. That was the worst time of my life. Yes, Loki has done truly horrible things. But nothing my brother does or has done could ever cause me to forget my love for him, not after all we have been though together. I could never give up on him."

Thor fell silent. No one else said anything either- they were all thinking over Thor's words. No more words were spoken at all until Tony asked for the check.

"Oh, don't worry about that," the waitress said. "I have instructions from my boss that your meal is completely on the house."

They were all unaware that Loki, though his magic, had been listening in on their conversation every since they entered the restaurant.

_Why do you still love Loki after all he has done?_ Steve Rogers had asked, and Loki had truly wanted to know why as well. He hadn't been prepared for his brother's response, though. As Thor had began to speak, Loki had started to get a strange feeling in his chest that he tried to ignore. By the end of Thor's speech, he couldn't help remembering everything they had been through together in that millennium. A thousand years' worth of memories hit him like a raging ocean, washing over his mind in waves, until it was as if the past year just faded away. As much as Loki tried to fight it, he could not. He was utterly moved by love for his brother.

When the Avengers were ready to leave the restaurant, Thor went to get Loki. His brother looked up immediately, turning his green eyes to look stratght into Thor's blue. Holding his gaze, Thor was shocked to see a mixture of warmth, love, sadness, pain, and regret in his brother's eyes. _He heard it all- everything I said_, he was quick to realize. He immediately removed Mjolnir from the chains, and Loki promptly stood. He lifted his chained arms to Thor as a gesture that he surrendered to him and his love. Thor understood the gesture, and warmth flooded into him. He took Loki's arm and walked him out.

Outside, with the rest of the Avengers walking behind them, Loki continued to portray his proud side to them. His expression remained closed. At one point he even jerked his arm away from Thor, who walked beside him. But Thor knew that that was all only a charade. All the while, Thor looked at his brother tenderly. When he held out the Tesseract, Loki took his end without hesitation.

He was ready to go home.

Thor felt lighter than he had since arriving on Midgard. The love in his brother's eyes had been unmistakable.

That didn't mean everything was right again, of course. Thor knew that Loki's punishment would be harsh, and he feared for his brother. But despite that, he felt a deep sense of relief. They were done fighting now; the battle on Midgard was over. He believed that they were finally on the road to repairing their relationship, and he knew that Loki felt the same.

There was still a long and difficult path that had to be walked in order to truly fix things. They both knew that it wouldn't be easy. But the first steps had been taken.

_Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Reviews are completely and utterly lovely._


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